Abstract
Rexford L. Diveley was born in Bazine, Kansas, in 1892, to the owner of a variety store. The family moved to the Oklahoma Territory (which had been opened for settlement in 1890). He returned to his home state, graduated from Hutchinson High School, and obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees (1917) from the University of Kansas. During WW I he served as head of a radiology unit in Limoges, France. After the armistice, he spent a year at Johns Hopkins in medicine, and then briefly went into private practice in St. Joseph’s, Missouri, north of Kansas City. He then established a radiology unit at Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Shortly thereafter, he began working with Dr. Frank Dickson at the Christian Church Hospital, and changed his practice to orthopaedic surgery. In 1927 they established the Dickson-Diveley Clinic and by 1928 moved their practice to the St. Luke’s Hospital. Dr. Diveley’s travels resulted in his becoming a member of the British and Italian Orthopaedic Societies and the Sir Robert Jones Dinner Club. He served as treasurer of the AOA, President of the Clinical Orthopaedic Society, and the Mid-Central States Orthopaedic Society. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Diveley coauthored a number of articles with Dr. Dickson and other colleagues at the Dickson-Diveley Clinic. We reprint here two brief articles. The apparatus he and Dickson described for limb lengthening used Kirschner wires, rather than larger pins, thus causing less soft-tissue damage [2]. Their technique was based on that described a few years earlier by Abbott [1] and presaged the device and technique described and popularized by Ilizarov [4]. The second article described a modification for Syme amputations which allowed a relatively cosmetic appearance for a Syme amputation [3]. Diveley and Kiene noted the bulbous and objectionable appearance of the traditional prosthesis, particularly for women (“A Syme amputation, which is the most conservative below-the-knee amputation and which provides the best functioning stump for weight-bearing, has been rarely recommended for women, because the unsightly prosthesis is objectionable.”). Their modifications include a lightweight, thin prosthesis made of laminated plastic reinforced with glass cloth and a posterior cutout to allow the large stump to slip through the prosthesis without enlarging the entire length. [Figure: see text] References 1. Abbott LC. The operative lengthening of the tibia and fibula. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1927;9:128–152. 2. Dickson FD, Diveley RL. A new apparatus for the lengthening of legs. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1932;14:194–196. 3. Diveley RL, Kiene RH. An improved prosthesis for a Syme amputation. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1956;38:219–221. 4. Ilizarov GA, Deviatov AA. Surgical lengthening of the shin with simultaneous correction of deformities [in Russian]. Ortop Travmatol Protez. 1969;30:32−37.